Chapter 8: The waiting is the hardest part
We waited. And we waited some more. I waited very impatiently. The empty Nanias system mocked me. It knew I would live and die in such a tiny span of time compared to the billions of years that lay behind and before it. If you think stars can't be judgmental, please point out the last time you asked one about it. Case closed.
Hours went by. A whole shift passed. I stayed on the bridge, waiting to be vindicated. I hadn't abandoned my friends, my colleagues, my President, for nothing, dammit! I knew my crew wouldn't mutiny--despite my "soft touch," they were loyal and disciplined. They put their trust in me, whether I deserved it or not. I wanted to be right, to have done the right thing for them, for Earth, for everyone.
Silence. The bridge gradually grew quiet. Anxiety, no doubt, rubbed off on them, seemingly seeping out of me. Jack. Could he have set me up? That the thought even occurred to me made me laugh, at least on the inside. We owed each other our lives many times over. In some ways--creepy ways, if you ask me--we were closer than a married couple. Shared imperilment has a way of binding people.
I felt that bond give me a strong jerk when Jenna announced a new tactical reading. "Two Koraxian ships inbound." She sounded almost as relieved as I felt. But I wasn't expecting the next part: "One is pursuing--and attacking--the other."
Now, I had a 50/50 shot either way. Which ship belonged to the rebels? I figured the most likely scenario was that our erstwhile allies were held up by their oppressive government, and waged a running battle to make good on their rendezvous with us. Going from those assumptions, it was time to return the favor.
"Target the attacking ship, pursue and engage," I ordered.
The forward viewer changed from a tactical map of the Nanias system to a target view. The two bluish, crystalline ships glimmered in the light of this system's yellow sun. They grew larger as we approached, both vessels apparently ignoring us. I had no idea what effect, if any, our weapons would have on a Koraxian ship. At the least, we'd get their attention!
My ship shuddered slightly as two nuclear missiles launched from their tubes. We watched them head for their target, looming larger and larger by the sight of their target cameras. For several tense minutes, we watched, desperate to see results.
The ship filled the screen, and then it went dark. We all looked to Jenna, hoping for the best. She stared down at her console, interpreting the sensor feedback, and her expression gave it all away. "Direct hit," she uttered. "No damage."
Everyone looked discouraged--how could they not?--and it seemed we were back to square one. But then, two things happened. First, she reported that the ship was now pursuing us. I ordered evasive maneuvers, as standard procedure dictated.
Second, Vorlano spoke up. This was unusual, to say the least, since I think he'd spoken about a dozen words in his six month tenure here. "Commander Starsmyth-Kennedy's report was inaccurate. We have damaged the enemy ship."
"Do tell," I said, wondering what had piqued his interest enough for him to speak up.
"Cracks have formed in a ring pattern at a specific radius from the impact epicenter. "
"Doesn't sound like that does us much good. What does it mean to you?"
"Vibrations at a particular frequency can damage the ship's structure."
"Do you have the frequency?"
"Yes."
"Feed it to Jenna's console. Program a cluster of hull disruptors to use it." Both nodded tentatively. They knew what I was asking for, but they also had their doubts it would work. Hull disruptors were a recent upgrade to the Protector, projectiles that homed in on a ship so they could get close enough to cut into the hull, having energy beams instead of warheads. An explosive payload was optional, inserted into the hole the hull disruptor (hopefully) carved into its quarry.
Would modified HDs break up the crystalline structure of a Koraxian ship? Boy, we hoped so.
It took Vorlano a few minutes to relay the modification specs to Jenna, which gave the enemy ship time to close distance. The other Koraxian ship--presumably carrying our allegedly friendly rebels--didn't do much to help, either because they couldn't or because they didn't want to. Neither possibility encouraged me.
Jenna pointed out that the HDs were ready to go, and I gave the order to fire. They were close now, and it took only seconds for our projectiles to reach their target. Oddly, the Koraxians hadn't fired. My first thought was that they were waiting for a certain kill shot. That seemed like them--calculating, deadly.
It was difficult to tell from the ship's cameras that we'd done any damage with our hull disruptor barrage. The vessel looked fine, so I had to wait for Vorlano's report.
The blue-green, spindly fellow vibrated with what, I assume, was pleasure. "Severe damage to two spines. Deep cracks. Energy levels have become erratic."
"What does that mean?" I asked, hoping he had an answer.
"They're firing!" he squealed. Before I even had time to order evasion, I was nearly thrown from my seat. The ship lurched sickly starboard, and I knew we'd been hit.
"Report!"
Jenna's came in first. "It swiped our port side. We have a few breaches. Damage control teams are heading down to seal them."
"How bad a shape are we in?"
"Another couple hits like that and we won't have to worry about damage control, she said grimly. I had gathered as much just from her expression.
"Return fire!" I barked. We did. We gave 'em another good smack with the hull disruptors. And then they ran away.
"They're retreating!" Jenna gasped, uncharacteristically surprised by something.
"Vorlano?" Maybe he had an explanation.
"Our second barrage dealt extensive damage. They may be unable to attack."
"Hmmm." I watched on the screen as the ship drew away from us, light blue spines glistening in starlight. Soon, it disappeared as it activated a fold vector. It wasn't one we had on our charts so I made sure to record it for future investigation.
Now, it was time to turn our attention to our new friends. "Lieutenant, standard greetings to the remaining ship."
She nodded and seemed deep in thought, working her console. She translated their response rather quickly. "We are pleased to see you, Earth-friends."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We came here with the understanding you could help us. What are you offering?"
"We will help you destroy one our primary staging areas. It is poorly defended as most of our fleet is engaged with yours. Destroying this facility will hamper our Leader's ability to send reinforcements."
"Sounds good. Let's get down to planning, then."
"Yes. Thank you for intervening on our behalf."
"No sweat. Just pay it back sometime, okay?"
Chapter 8
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Chapter 8: The waiting is the
We waited. And we waited some more. I waited very impatiently. The empty Nanias system mocked me. It knew I would live and die in such a tiny span of time compared to the billions of years that lay behind and before it. If you think stars can't be judgmental, please point out the last time you asked one about it. Case closed.
Hours went by. A whole shift passed. I stayed on the bridge, waiting to be vindicated. I hadn't abandoned my friends, my colleagues, my President, for nothing, dammit! I knew my crew wouldn't mutiny--despite my "soft touch," they were loyal and disciplined. They put their trust in me, whether I deserved it or not. I wanted to be right, to have done the right thing for them, for Earth, for everyone.
Silence. The bridge gradually grew quiet. Anxiety, no doubt, rubbed off on them, seemingly seeping out of me. Jack. Could he have set me up? That the thought even occurred to me made me laugh, at least on the inside. We owed each other our lives many times over. In some ways--creepy ways, if you ask me--we were closer than a married couple. Shared imperilment has a way of binding people.
I felt that bond give me a strong jerk when Jenna announced a new tactical reading. "Two Koraxian ships inbound." She sounded almost as relieved as I felt. But I wasn't expecting the next part: "One is pursuing--and attacking--the other."
Now, I had a 50/50 shot either way. Which ship belonged to the rebels? I figured the most likely scenario was that our erstwhile allies were held up by their oppressive government, and waged a running battle to make good on their rendezvous with us. Going from those assumptions, it was time to return the favor.
"Target the attacking ship, pursue and engage," I ordered.
The forward viewer changed from a tactical map of the Nanias system to a target view. The two bluish, crystalline ships glimmered in the light of this system's yellow sun. They grew larger as we approached, both vessels apparently ignoring us. I had no idea what effect, if any, our weapons would have on a Koraxian ship. At the least, we'd get their attention!
My ship shuddered slightly as two nuclear missiles launched from their tubes. We watched them head for their target, looming larger and larger by the sight of their target cameras. For several tense minutes, we watched, desperate to see results.
The ship filled the screen, and then it went dark. We all looked to Jenna, hoping for the best. She stared down at her console, interpreting the sensor feedback, and her expression gave it all away. "Direct hit," she uttered. "No damage."
Everyone looked discouraged--how could they not?--and it seemed we were back to square one. But then, two things happened. First, she reported that the ship was now pursuing us. I ordered evasive maneuvers, as standard procedure dictated.
Second, Vorlano spoke up. This was unusual, to say the least, since I think he'd spoken about a dozen words in his six month tenure here. "Commander Starsmyth-Kennedy's report was inaccurate. We have damaged the enemy ship."
"Do tell," I said, wondering what had piqued his interest enough for him to speak up.
"Cracks have formed in a ring pattern at a specific radius from the impact epicenter. "
"Doesn't sound like that does us much good. What does it mean to you?"
"Vibrations at a particular frequency can damage the ship's structure."
"Do you have the frequency?"
"Yes."
"Feed it to Jenna's console. Program a cluster of hull disruptors to use it." Both nodded tentatively. They knew what I was asking for, but they also had their doubts it would work. Hull disruptors were a recent upgrade to the Protector, projectiles that homed in on a ship so they could get close enough to cut into the hull, having energy beams instead of warheads. An explosive payload was optional, inserted into the hole the hull disruptor (hopefully) carved into its quarry.
Would modified HDs break up the crystalline structure of a Koraxian ship? Boy, we hoped so.
It took Vorlano a few minutes to relay the modification specs to Jenna, which gave the enemy ship time to close distance. The other Koraxian ship--presumably carrying our allegedly friendly rebels--didn't do much to help, either because they couldn't or because they didn't want to. Neither possibility encouraged me.
Jenna pointed out that the HDs were ready to go, and I gave the order to fire. They were close now, and it took only seconds for our projectiles to reach their target. Oddly, the Koraxians hadn't fired. My first thought was that they were waiting for a certain kill shot. That seemed like them--calculating, deadly.
It was difficult to tell from the ship's cameras that we'd done any damage with our hull disruptor barrage. The vessel looked fine, so I had to wait for Vorlano's report.
The blue-green, spindly fellow vibrated with what, I assume, was pleasure. "Severe damage to two spines. Deep cracks. Energy levels have become erratic."
"What does that mean?" I asked, hoping he had an answer.
"They're firing!" he squealed. Before I even had time to order evasion, I was nearly thrown from my seat. The ship lurched sickly starboard, and I knew we'd been hit.
"Report!"
Jenna's came in first. "It swiped our port side. We have a few breaches. Damage control teams are heading down to seal them."
"How bad a shape are we in?"
"Another couple hits like that and we won't have to worry about damage control, (You forgot to close quotations.) she said grimly. I had gathered as much just from her expression.
"Return fire!" I barked. We did. We gave 'em another good smack with the hull disruptors. And then they ran away.
"They're retreating!" Jenna gasped, uncharacteristically surprised by something.
"Vorlano?" Maybe he had an explanation.
"Our second barrage dealt extensive damage. They may be unable to attack."
"Hmmm." I watched on the screen as the ship drew away from us, light blue spines glistening in starlight. Soon, it disappeared as it activated a fold vector. It wasn't one we had on our charts so I made sure to record it for future investigation.
Now, it was time to turn our attention to our new friends. "Lieutenant, standard greetings to the remaining ship."
She nodded and seemed deep in thought, working her console. She translated their response rather quickly. "We are pleased to see you, Earth-friends."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We came here with the understanding you could help us. What are you offering?"
"We will help you destroy one (Insert 'of') our primary staging areas. It is poorly defended as most of our fleet is engaged with yours. Destroying this facility will hamper our Leader's ability to send reinforcements."
"Sounds good. Let's get down to planning, then."
"Yes. Thank you for intervening on our behalf."
"No sweat. Just pay it back sometime, okay?"
Action ...
Good stuff, exciting, well paced ... believable.
Quick work, which is good for me as I despise false tension ,,,